Adolescent Depression
It refers to mental health condition leading to a persistent feeling of loss of interest and sadness. This feeling can be attributed to difficulties in academic and social expectations, the peer pressure as well as the various changes that occur in their body that can lead to challenge the adolescents. The signs and symptoms encompasses emotional changes such as irritability, feeling of hopelessness, anger, sensitivity to rejection or their failure, continuous sense of life being grim and suicidal ideations (Weersing et al., 2017). There also exists a behavioral change such as having low energy, insomnia, substance abuse, social withdrawal, poor academic performance, agitation, angry outbursts as well as instances of suicide attempts.
In preventing teen depression, primary prevention revolves around averting the occurrences of the condition to a healthy adolescent population. The strategies encompass engaging in positive youth development programs, incorporating the condition into the curriculum to educate teens, enrolling youths to after-school programs, venturing into mentoring programs as well as providing good parental guidance. The secondary prevention encompasses prompt determination and diagnosis as well as early treatment for depression through home visitation programs, community-based medical programs and enhancing school health concerning mental health. Tertiary prevention, on the other hand, is usually geared towards reducing the disability that comes with depression. The strategies to achieve this prevention entail job training, offering childcare services and proper parenting to support the adolescent.
In Pennsylvania, there exist various bodies that are state and community based as well as the national initiatives that are vital in enhancing mental health. National Child Traumatic Network enhances surveillance on stressors to the young people thus prevents the occurrence of adverse effects such as depression. Services for Teen at risk (STAR) Center also exist to determine those adolescents at risk and assisting them to get along with their lives (Fosco et al., 2016). In assisting a depressed adolescent, I would support them and assisted them to open up and share their problems to relieve the stressful situation leading to depression.
References
Fosco, G. M., Van Ryzin, M. J., Connell, A. M., & Stormshak, E. A. (2016). Preventing
adolescent depression with the family check-up: Examining family conflict as a
mechanism of change. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(1), 82.
Weersing, V. R., Jeffreys, M., Do, M. C. T., Schwartz, K. T., & Bolano, C. (2017). Evidence
base update of psychosocial treatments for child and adolescent depression. Journal of
Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 46(1), 11-43.
